


Little Prince

by cao



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Hurt Lance (Voltron), ITS 2 AM, Kidnapping, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Lance and Allura are siblings, Maybe at the end, Space Pirates, but still space, freaking pirates what else do we need, maybe swearing idk it just happens when i write, someone might k i s s, uh idfk its a lot, what the heck is lance being safe and happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-06-08 04:59:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15235878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cao/pseuds/cao
Summary: When Prince Lance of Altea is kidnapped by a band of galra pirates, his sister, Princess Allura, hires a group of professionals to find and return her brother to her.Allura wants her brother safe.Shiro wants to help a boy that reminds him of himself.Keith wants to destroy the group of pirates and the captain that imprisoned his brother for years.Hunk wants to help a boy who once helped him.Pidge wants to destroy the pirates that supposedly killed her family.And Lance wants to go home. Like really badly. So badly.This has more than one chapter, if you only read complete fics (i dont blame ya) i'll let you know when it's complete





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for AU's and Altean Lance, and it gives me the excuse to write some angst yall. and dont make fun of me for the setup of Shiro's name i didn't know how to present it bc obviously he doesn't go by his full name

Lance couldn't remember the last time he'd been this scared. He'd been scared a few times when his father had been angry, but nothing like this. The events were a blur in his mind. He'd remembered his sister, Allura, she'd been angry about something, but he couldn't recall what. He had been excited to show her his hair, he'd changed it finally, so it looked white like hers, instead of brown. She had gotten upset with him and told him to leave her alone, well he certainly had, and now that he had he was in a completely different galaxy. His hands were bound in front of him and attached to a hook in the wall slightly above his head. There was a gag in his mouth that tasted like he imagined spoiled milk tasted. There was water dripping down the back of his neck and filling his shoes. He could hear voices murmuring outside of the cell he was in but not loudly enough to hear anything, he felt like crying and quickly became upset at the feeling. He was sure Allura wouldn't cry, and his father wouldn't, and neither would his hero, Shiro Shirogane, although none of them would have ended up in this situation. He flexed his wrists in an attempt to loosen the bonds around his hands but he could barely move and winced at the sudden pain. He hoped that Allura would come get him soon. 

* * *

 

Allura was pacing the length of the throne room, or its remains. There was a huge hole blown through the wall that had smashed three windows and ripped through the castle. Her heart was racing and she felt as if she was about to break down and cry. But she couldn't do that, not when her brother was in trouble, not when he brother had been kidnapped only a few vargas ago. She had yelled at him, telling him off for trying to show her something when she wasn't angry at him. And now she may never know what he had been so proud of and ran to her to tell her. She'd been too disoriented to truly understand what had happened when the blast first occurred, but the next thing she could recall was her brother on the ground, his head was bleeding and he was being held on the ground by an man with glowing eyes. She hadn't been able to tell if he'd been crying but he was screaming, screaming out for her and her father, who was no where to be seen. The man had dragged him towards the gaping hole in the wall until he was forced onto his knees in front of the man she assumed was the captain. The captain had run his hand down Lance's cheek, and when Lance flinched, the captain smacked him across the face with such great force Lance had to fight to regain his balance. The man had laughed and pointed to the ship, and the pirates began to leave. They were just leaving. Lance threw his head back, as if he was trying to get one last, desperate look at the castle, and find Allura. But the men forced him forward, gripping his arms so hard she heard his whimper as they dragged him up a board and disappeared into the boat. She hadn't even waited a tick before climbing out from her hiding place and rushing to the control room to contact her father. He'd assured her he would return immediately and was on a ship right this moment to come home. Allura hadn't realised it before but she couldn't help but feel angry with her father, her little brother was gone, kidnapped, in danger, and her father had merely batted an eye and told her he'd return shortly. She had broken something then, taken her father's ornament by his chair and smashed it on the floor, it wasn't a stretch, she could say the intruders did it. And when he entered the room he found her sitting on the floor amongst the remains of the shattered glass, holding a piece in her hand that had sliced her finger open. She had merely stared at him when he entered, almost like she was disgusted. 

"What is wrong my child?" He asked in his booming voice that filled every corner of the destroyed room. 

"What's wrong? You come home after disappearing again, again, and ask me what is wrong after Lance has been kidnapped?" She could feel her face growing hot and the the pressure of tears building up behind her eyes, "He's gone." 

"We will find him." 

In that moment Allura grew angrier with her father than she had ever been, he didn't show any emotion, no fear, sadness, regret, only the blank face he had during negotiation conferences, and she hated him, "How? A search team? A rescue mission? Or perhaps you will scan for him in one or two galaxies." Her harsh words flew off her tongue and stabbed her father in the chest, she could see him wince and was satisfied she had caused him grief. 

"I will combine those things, I will make sure Lance is home safe," He promised, "I am upset too Allura, but I will not allow those words at this time, when it is over express your anger all you want, but for now you must think of Lance and hope for his safe return." 

She nodded and smoothed the skirts of her dress, "What shall I do?" Finding Lance was more important than her anger or emotions, his screams were still echoing in her mind. 

"You will not be involved in the search." 

Her father's words echoed for a moment before she fully understood what he had said to her, "What, of course I will, he is my brother." Her rage was building up again and she had to bite her lip from screaming.

"I forbid you from searching for him, it is too dangerous." He waved his hand to dismiss her and turned to the control panel. 

She rushed from the room in an effort to conceal her rage and sadness, running to her room. She couldn't believe her father, in the back of her head she understood the dangers that searching for Lance held. But he was her brother, and she would not leave him alone. Her eyes strayed to a photograph of her mother and a plan popped into her head. 

 

A few doboshes later she had packed a bag and changed her clothes, into the closest things she had to casual streetwear. She pulled a hood over her head, tucking away her eerily recognisable white hair and shading her features. She slipped through the castle and escaped out the back servant door, and easily escaped into the gargantuan crowd of people staring at the shattered castle, pushing for a better view and asking questions about the ships. She had to push against the crowd and was not used to the noise and action of the streets and it took her a moment to adjust. She ran along side streets and alleyways to avoid guards and people while searching for the address on the slip of paper. She found it on the corner of a dark street, right beside a tavern full of drinking people. She frowned before knocking on the door. 

 

* * *

 

Shiro had been having a wonderful day, no one had bothered him, Hunk and Pidge were getting along, Keith hadn't picked a fight with a random man on the street yet, it was calm. But when he heard the sharp knocking on his door his mood deflated, he considered ignoring it and going back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't and reluctantly trudged to the doorway. When he swung it open he found a cloaked figure standing surprisingly close to the door, and he took a step back. 

"Hello, Can i help you?" He rubbed the fatigue from his eyes and scratched the back of his neck.

:Are you Shiro Shirogane?" The voice was higher pitched and soft, kind. 

"That's me." He squinted in an attempt to see under the shadows of the hood. 

"May we talk in private, it's extremely urgent." He was almost certain it was a woman from the pitch of her voice, and her body shape. 

"Yeah, come in." He groaned inwardly, he really just wanted to go back to his nap. 

She reached up and slowly pulled the hood back to reveal her face and Shiro dropped his arm, which he hadn't fully attached, onto the floor.

"Your Majesty, to what do I owe the honour?" He pumped on the charm, the royal princess was not often seen outside of the castle, most people said it was because of her father, he was apparently very controlling. Something about her mother he had heard. 

"I'm sure you've heard of what happened at the castle this morning," She paused, as if remembering the event, "I was there, and I would like to hire you to help me." 

He nodded slowly, "To find the men responsible, or..." 

:To help me find my brother," Her face darkened, "There was a group of men that blew the wall apart, they entered through the hole and attacked my brother, they kidnapped him and I could do nothing to help."

"I'm sorry ma'am," He paused to think and she nodded kindly, "Is your father, uh, King Alfor not searching?" 

"He is, but he has forbidden me from involving myself, " She frowned, "And I will not leave my brother out there alone, I believe the men were pirates. And I am no fool, I understand just what pirates can and will do. And as much as I do not want to face it, my brother is purely Altean, and a prince, he could earn them a great price." 

Shiro nodded along with her words, "I will help you." 

"You will? Oh, Thank you!" Her face broke into a smile and it seemed to release a great weight off of her shoulders, "Thank you." 

"Of course, I hope it's alright if i bring my team?" 

"Yes, anything you need I will help with, but I cannot return to the castle, my father will forbid me to leave." 

"You want to come with us?" He was taken aback. 

"Yes," She repeated as if it had been common knowledge, "I am going to be there to help my brother, as capable as my father is, I have a feeling that he will not be successful in finding my brother."

Shiro nodded, "What's his name?"

"Lance." 

"How old is he?"

"He's, sixteen deca-phoebs." She paused, "He's very young."

Shiro smiled to reassure her, "My brother is seventeen deca-phoebs, and he often helps me on missions, they must grow up sometime." 

She offered him a soft smile, "I suppose they must, but he is very young to be in this kind of danger." 

"Of course." Shiro agreed, "Let me gather my team and we can begin." 

 

* * *

 

Allura had sat anxiously at the small wooden table in the front room of Shiro's home with the curtains drawn to avoid being seen while she waited for him to call his team. She really hoped that this would work and they would be able to locate Lance and bring him home safely, he was only sixteen, and he was barely mastering the art of shape shifting and other natural Altean abilities. He didn't deserve to be alone somewhere in space wondering if someone was going to rescue him in time. 

Her eyes snapped to the stairway when the sound of footsteps woke her from her daze and she found a boy dressed in red and black, a sword was hooked at his side and his hair was long in the back, curling softly at his neck. He looked vaguely like Shiro. And when he turned to see her at the table they both simultaneously straightened their posture. 

"Hello, uh, Princess." He waved to her slowly as if he was unsure of what to do. 

"Hello." She smiled softly at him and waved back. 

"I'm Keith." 

"I am Princess Allura." She smiled again, "It is nice to meet you." 

"Uh, thanks, you too." He smiled again before turning abruptly and heading back up the stairs. 

Allura sat alone for a few more moments before Shiro and Keith came back down followed by two other people, a tall boy and a very short girl. 

Shiro smiled again almost sadly, "That is Hunk, he's our engineer, Pidge, she's our technician, and Keith, our close range combat expert." 

"It is wonderful to meet you all, I thank you for helping me find my brother, I will pay you whatever sum you want." 

Keith shifted on his feet and Hunk cleared his throat, "Excuse me, Miss Princess ma'am, we don't ask for money." 

"Oh, of course," She thought for a moment, 'What would you like instead?" 

Pidge was the next to speak up, "Nothing, Your Highness, we will help you for free." 

Allura balked at the kindness of the children, "I would give you anything, are you positive?" 

"Absolutely," Shiro spoke up once more, "Shall we begin?" 

Allura nodded quickly, anxious to begin the search and she recounted every detail she could remember from the event down to the smell in the room the moment before the wall blew. They all sat quietly as she told them everything, listening to every detail, and Pidge seemed to be building something slowly as she spoke. When she finished the girl nodded and held up the device. 

"This should be able to search for traces of their bombs in the air, from the smell you described, they clearly used a very specific type of ore that increases the strength of chemical reactions, and explosions." 

Allura stared at her in awe, "You really built that right there?" 

"Yep! It's pretty simple when you get down to it but, we could go ahead and start tracking him." 

She nodded furiously and motioned for the girl to begin, "Please." 

"Let's head to our ship." Pidge started typing something onto a screen on her wrist and led the way to a ship resting in a small hangar outside the house. 

"One last thing, do you have a picture of him?" Pidge turned to ask. 

"Always," Allura pulled a necklace that was tucked into her dress out and opened the clasp, revealing a set of pictures, she flipped to the one in the back that showed Lance. He was sitting in a formal chair used for royal pictures, wearing the traditional garb of royal Alteans with a slight smile on his face and his eyes shining. 

"Oh my god, he's even cuter than they say he is." The girl blushed red, "I'm so sorry Your Highness." 

Allura smiled, "It is alright Pidge, i've heard many people say things like that." She didn't miss Pidge's sideways glance at Keith who was sneaking looks at the now blown up picture of her brother, and it took only a tick to connect the dots. 

"Okay, let's see if the prince has come up on any news feeds, articles, pictures, anything and we'll know." Pidge scanned through articles and pictures flying across her screen so quickly everything was only a blast of colour to Allura. 

"Oh." the engineer, Hunk breathed out in a voice so quiet she almost didn't hear him. 

"What is it?" She flew to their sides and stared at the image on the screen, Keith and Shiro following her. 

The video was of Lance, he appeared to be coming off of a ship docked at a nearly empty port, his hands were bound behind his back and there was a gag in his mouth. His head was stained red with the dried blood from the explosion and he appeared to be favouring one leg. His eyes were wide and searching around him to get an idea of his surroundings but the men holding his arms forced his head forward and jerked him violently along. 

"They'll give him a concussion at that rate." Pidge had murmured almost sounding upset. 

He finally looked ahead and recognised there was something, or someone, ahead that he wanted nothing to do with and he stopped moving, the fear evident on his face and he pulled backwards against the men holding him. He turned and twisted his arm in an attempt to pull it from their grasp and kicked out at one man with his leg, successfully causing him to let go of Lance, but the other man was there, grasping Lance's neck and raising him off the ground. Lance reached up and pulled at the hands holding him, his legs twitching underneath him as he attempted to pull the man's rough hands off of him. Then, what could only be the thing he was so afraid of stepped into their view, the man holding him dropped Lance and stepped away to fully show the giant man. He was over seven feet tall with a massive body and Shiro sucked in a breath when he saw him. He reached down and with one hand lifted Lance by the collar of his tunic so that he was standing on shaky legs. 

The sound was muffled on the poor quality video but his voice came through clear as day, "So this is the little prince." 

Allura's blood ran cold. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long my internship got in the way of everything and i lost the original copy! I hope you all enjoy and I hope you like the way the story is going!

There was no mistaking the image in front of her, it was Zarkon. The most feared pirate in the entire universe, no one fought him, crossed him, no one even talked about him. The only person who'd faced him in combat and lived, even walked away in one piece, was her father. And he was a king, a ruler, he had power and influence and armies. She was in a ship with four people she'd hired, they had no connection whatsoever to her or her brother, they would leave at the first chance. Allura peered through the grainy image to study her brother's face, he didn't look scared at all. In fact Lance was talking. Allura licked her suddenly dry lips, Lance had a reputation of mouthing off to authority figures, he didn't like being told what to do. Sure enough the pirate raised his hand and smacked her brother across the face. His head snapped to the side and even through the low quality they could see the blood running from his nose. He was pulling at the ropes the pirates held to secure him down and screaming at Zarkon, who seemed amused. Then the video cut out. 

"Where did it go? Why can't we see?" Allura leaned forwards to study the now black screen, her hands were shaking, "Pidge?"

"It would seem that the video feed cut out entirely after that, it comes up a few ticks later but the ship and everyone is gone." 

"Well let's head to the dock, maybe someone saw something and they can point us in the right direction," Shiro moved to sit in the pilot's seat, "We don't want to get too far behind."

"You mean you'll still help?" She looked back up at the group. 

"Of course," Hunk spoke up, "No one deserves to be stuck there." 

She couldn't muster the words to explain her gratitude and nodded to them, turning away before they could notice the tears rimming her eyes. Her brother meant the world to her, they did everything together, and she would give up her titles, her life, everything to ensure he was not in the hands of a man like Zarkon. 

She could remember when he had attacked the palace before, they had been with their tutor, and the walls had blown in, throwing them across the room and her tutor to the hall. Their tutor had rushed them away and taken all of the fire from the blasters when they were running, their father found them sitting by her body. Lance had cried, sobbing over the loss of her life, he'd been so angry with their father. She had noticed a change in him then, he'd become louder, more reckless, more prone to doing all of the things they were forbidden to do. He left the castle, ran with the common boys, played with weapons, learned to shoot a gun, he'd done it all. He had idolised their father until that day, he'd been furious the great King Alfor couldn't help their tutor, an innocent woman. She doubted he'd forgiven him yet. 

After that he'd become loud, talked to everyone and everything. He'd flirt with anyone who would look at him or smile in his direction. His father despised it, calling it improper behaviour for a prince. Which only made Lance do it more. 

She couldn't believe she'd let them take him. It was her job to protect her brother. Her little brother. 

She broke free from her thoughts and looked up, her eyes resting on Keith. From what she could tell he was most likely related to Shiro, he was quiet. He only talked when it really mattered, he would be a good spy she thought. Maybe when this was all over she could recruit him. He had a sword out and was polishing it with a cloth, removing every stain and spot that he could see. He didn't look as if he was paying attention to much but his eyes flicked up to catch her staring, and she looked back down. Pidge was typing on the computer, Hunk was sitting next to her, they seemed like they did everything together, followed each other around. They were both incredibly smart and she knew they would make wonderful assistants in the castle, they could build and develop new technology and better weapons, maybe she could recruit all of them. Her eyes moved to Shiro next, he really was cool, living up to the legend behind his name. Sure she'd heard all kinds of stories about him, he was a hero, he'd saved so many people no one knew the number. Every girl in the castle, from maid to lady talked about him, everyone knew who he was. And she was sitting in a ship he was piloting. He was Lance's idol, she wondered what he would say when he met Shiro. The man pretty much lived up to the tales, the wild stories, he was just, cool. His hair was cool his scar was cool, his muscles were cool- 

She stopped herself before she could think further. 

* * *

 

Lance was dragged onto the boardwalk of a huge ship, he'd seen it in pictures all the time, his father had scolded him endlessly about it. And here he was, the one place his father said never to find himself. Wasn't that just like him, Allura would be proud. They dragged him along the deck and pulled him down a ladder to an old cell. They pushed him in with his hands still bound and locked the door behind them before returning to the deck above. 

He had used to want to be a pirate, but it was looking less appealing now, the ground was dirty and soaked with water, he could hear a rat scurrying around the room somewhere and the barrels next to him looked like they were full of explosives. The air was cold and a shiver racked his body and he wished he could tuck his arms into his shirt. But they were still firmly tied behind his back, utterly useless. He thought about what Allura would do, she would snap the ropes and fight every pirate until she was safe back on the dock. But he wasn't Allura, and she'd left him with them in the throne room, she'd left. Maybe she didn't know he was there, she didn't see him, she wouldn't leave him. He hoped she wouldn't. Sure they'd fought but she wouldn't let them take him would she? He shook his head, the thought was silly, she wasn't like that, she loved him. It was her that had protected him on many occasions when their father had come home and found Lance wasn't home. If she had known she wouldn't have let them take him he decided, and sat on the cot behind him. It creaked with his movement and he really hoped it wouldn't collapse beneath him and leave him on the wet floor. 

A few vargas later he heard someone coming down the stairs and stood back up on his feet so quickly he got dizzy. It was one of the men who'd held him up when Zarkon had slapped him. He scowled for good measure. 

"Come on." The man unlocked the door and grabbed Lance roughly by the front of his shirt and pushed him towards the steps. 

This was his chance. Lance stopped himself falling forward with his feet and when the man grabbed his arms he threw his fists backwards into the man's stomach. When he was doubled over he slammed his head into a barrel and the man dropped over. He thanked his friend for teaching him how to fight and looped his legs through his arms so his bound hands were in front of him now. He slowly worked his way up the stairs, and at the top was another man waiting to grab him no doubt. Lance threw himself into the man, catching him by surprise and knocking him off his feet. He yelped as the man grabbed his hair and pulled Lance down as well, but he kicked the man in the stomach twice and scrambled back to his feet. He turned to run but he found himself facing the giant pirate himself, Zarkon. 

"Hello little prince." 

Lance swallowed a lump in his throat, "Hello." He sounded weak. 

"Why don't you join me in my office." The pirate sneered and grabbed Lance's hands, which were in front of him in protest. 

He dragged the protesting boy across the deck and into a lavishly decorated room. He was forced into a cushy chair and the man sat across from him. 

"Let me go." 

"I would be a fool to do that boy." The man was studying him, his eyes roaming all over Lance's body and Lance felt wildly uncomfortable. 

"Why did you do this. I don't mean anything to you." 

The man laughed, "Your father. He is a scoundrel and a dirty liar. He doesn't deserve what he has. Any of it, his kingdom, his glory, his children. He threw my favours in the dirt. And he has made one too many mistakes. Now I will take everything from him, starting with you. And maybe the sister of yours."

Lance's vision went black and he launched himself at the pirate, throwing his fists wildly, trying to beat him. But the man caught his hands and held the boy away, at a safe distance, "Don't touch my sister!" He screamed at him, still struggling to hit the man. 

"I will not harm you." The man almost looked sad, "I would only take you from him." 

"No you would hurt her!" He was still screaming, his fear manifesting onto his face, he could feel the pressure building up behind his eyes, "You can't hurt her." 

He finally stopped fighting, his breaths coming raggedly and his chest heaving, he could feel the pressure overwhelming his eyes and he let the tears fall down his cheeks. 

"Little prince, there are things about your father that you do not know, and I will not blame you if you hate me," 

"I do hate you." Lance snarled. 

He looked down at the ground, "And I do not blame you, but your father is not what he seems." 

He left Lance in the chair and closed the door behind him. 

He didn't lock it. 

* * *

Allura must have fallen asleep, because she was woken up by Pidge, "Your Highness, wake up, we're close." 

She suppressed a yawn and pulled herself to her feet, stretching her arms high above her head. She felt the ship lurch and she tripped forwards a little, catching herself on Shiro's arm. He helped pull her to her feet and let her go immediately, his face turning red. 

"If you're done," Pidge snorted, "We're here." 

Allura scolded herself for thinking about Shiro at a time like this, Lance was in danger. She focused her attention on the docks, they were dark and damp and she could sense the cool air wafting up from the water. There was only one ship docked but no one was around, and she recognised an area from the security footage. 

"There!" Keith pointed at the area as soon as she recognised it, "That's where he was."

Hunk was now piloting and he set the ship down in front of the corner section and released the exit ramp. Shiro was the first to spot the blood, a pool of it in front of where the ramp would have been, he motioned for Keith to join him but Allura followed as well and hid the fact she was going to be sick. 

"It could just be from his nose, remember." Shiro tried to comfort her and Allura nodded. 

"It could just be from that." She repeated, "But Zarkon is not a fool, he knows how to play his cards, he may think he is more likely to get something out of my father if Lance is," Her sentence trailed off when she noticed the eyes on her. 

"He wouldn't do anything if Lance was unharmed?" Hunk looked very small all of a sudden. 

"Well, my father, he's a tough man. He has things to worry about, he's always been quite distant." She rushed to defend her father.

He nodded but she caught his glance to Pidge, she turned to ignore it. 

"Well how do we find them?" She looked up into the air and followed a stream of light dust, "What's that?" 

Pidge jumped in front of her, "That's an emission stream! They can be left after ships use thrusters for flight they remain in the air, but only for a short period of time, so the ship must have left recently!" 

"We could still catch the trail!" Keith looked excited, "Let's go before we lose them!" 

                              

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to have the next chapter up soon (i wont get caught in another lie) so tell me what you think or if you have any suggestions feel free to comment! Thank you so much for reading loves! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took so long but i just started my junior year of high school!! Also as a side note, I started this story before it was released that Shiro is gay and i'll finish this story with shallura but also I mean no disrespect to his sexuality it's just I wrote this story before it was released. Sorry about that.

Lance felt sick, the only comfort was the cushioned chair beneath him. He knew it was possible that Zarkon was lying, spinning a tale to make sure Lance would never believe his family again. But a small part of Lance believed the pirate, his father had a lot of enemies, that he was positive of, what if the king had done something to someone, to a lot of someone's. But it didn't make sense, he was a king, he cared for his people. He could have just made a mistake, that must have been it, everyone made mistakes. 

What had he done. 

Lance shook himself out of his stupor and clambered to his feet, there must be something in the pirate's office. He searched through the desk and found one drawer that opened, it was full of papers. He flipped through them until one caught his eye, it looked old, and the top of it read 'Formal Leave Notice'. Lance scanned the page, it was for the pirate, it was notifying him of his formal dismissal from King Alfor's court. That must be why the pirate hated his father so much, not because he was a bad person, but because he'd been kicked out of court. He grabbed the paper and rushed to the unlocked door, swinging it open and stepping out into the main area. He could see the crew staring at him but his eyes focused on Zarkon at the other end, talking to someone in front of a large screen. He stepped forward, expecting to be stopped by someone but no one moved forward, they continued on doing what they had been doing, he frowned but continued on towards Zarkon. 

"Zarkon," He snapped at the man's back, "You got kicked out of the court!" He held up the now crumpled paper triumphantly and waved it in the air. 

"Yes," The pirate didn't look moved at all, "I was removed after I did something that Alfor did not agree with." 

Lance didn't know what to say then, he'd expected the pirate to be surprised, "What did you do?" Curiosity overtook him. 

"I stopped his order to attack a village." The man looked calm. 

"You're lying, my father would never attack a village of innocent people." He held his chin up, "He's a king."

"Ah, that is where he misleads you little prince, he is not as innocent as you would believe, the village had been conquered by a neighbouring kingdom, and he wanted to expel them, he planned on blowing the entire village up."  

"You're lying." He had no idea what to say, what if the pirate wasn't lying.

"I assure you I am not. That is not his only crime, he is no saint," The man paused, “He is the man responsible for your mother’s death.”

Lance felt his heart miss a beat, his mouth felt dry and tasteless, he couldn’t get air into his lungs. 

“What.” His voice was barely a whisper. 

“There is much you do not know little prince.” The pirate turned back to the screen he had been working on, “Take him to a room, lock the door.” 

The man beside Zarkon grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards, away from Zarkon. 

Keith had never met a prince before, he didn't know if he'd like it. From what he'd heard princes were stuck up and thought they were better than a knight, even if the knight did all the hard work. He'd seen Prince Lance in the marketplace, they all had, he was there constantly, maybe that meant he would be different, but he also was frequently seen with with a group of boys always causing trouble for Shiro. They'd been hired multiple times to stop them from wrecking a store or someone's yard. It was a bit exhausting. He'd used to be like that, in a gang, until Shiro had pulled him back to reality and told him it was either get his life in shape or end up rotting in one of the King's overfilled prisons. He'd watched plenty of people get dragged off since then, and he always had a bit of sympathy for them because he knew what they felt, why they did what they did. He'd always turned a blind eye to the young ones and chased them off before they could get caught. But the prince, he could be just like his father, cruel and unforgiving. Stuck in an idea that he was superior to them all because he lived in a castle and wore fancy clothes. Then again, maybe he was like Allura, he liked Allura. She was nice, she seemed to genuinely care about her people. He’d never seen Alfor address anyone lower than his position, but Allura was frequently seen speaking to common peoples. 

He twisted his sword in his hand, satisfied with his job of cleaning it and stuck it back into its sheath. The job of finding Zarkon would not be easy, he had had his encounters with the Pirate King before. Nasty battles that ended with Keith bleeding and Zarkon’s fleet disappearing. Shiro had warned him countless times not to mess with the pirate, that he was dangerous and wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Keith. He’d always scoffed at Shiro’s warnings but maybe he should be more careful, seeing as the pirate had actually kidnapped a child to get back at an old rival. Maybe the situation was different this time, it was the prince. 

 

That did strike worry into Keith. 

 

Zarkon was a known manipulator, he was extremely good at it. If he twisted his words enough to manipulate the prince into doing something, hurting someone, revealing information, things could go south quickly. He doubted Alfor would forgive his son for telling his sworn enemy information. Even if he was tricked. 

 

He glanced at Allura, she was staring at the screen Hunk and Pidge were working on. And he looked to Shiro, who was staring at Allura, this would go badly. 

 

Lance couldn’t remember falling asleep, but he woke up in a bed much nicer than the moldy cot he’d been on last night. His head was spinning and his wrists were sore although he had no idea as to why. Zarkon’s words came rushing back to him and he groaned, the man had to be lying, his father loved his mother. There was no way he’d let her get hurt. He chewed on the inside of his lip a nervous habit Allura was constantly trying to get him to stop. 

 

Allura. She had to be coming for him, he wouldn’t have to be here much longer. 

 

He pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed, a flash of metal catching his attention, there was a metal band clamped onto his wrist. He brought it up to his face to inspect it, there was a green light on one side and it was otherwise completely smooth besides a tiny line that could only be where it clasped. He tried to grasp the clamp but it was too small to get his nails into. Lance could feel his breaths speeding up and he tried to calm himself, he didn’t even know what it was for, it could be anything. 

 

Anything. 

 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned his wrist back over so he could see the green light, blinking slowly in confirmation that it wasn’t changing. 

 

Where the hell was Allura. Where was his father. A guard. Anyone to get him out of here. Lance would have never breathed a word to anyone else but he was scared. 

 

Okay, he scolded himself, Allura wouldn’t get scared. She would, try the door. He climbed around the furniture and wiggled the door handle, it was locked. Of course it was locked because no villain ever would make it easy to escape. When he got out of here he’d have some words with Zarkon. There was a vent in the ceiling above the bed and that’s where he went next. It was warm to the touch and he pulled his hand back in surprise. He pulled the sleeves of his shirt down to cover his hands and yanked the vent as hard as he could, it creaked under the force but didn’t move. He tried again and it flew loose, knocking him backwards and he tumbled onto the bed. Heat was radiating from the vent and he caught a blast of it when he stood back up and he coughed at the sudden moisture. 

“Are they running a sauna here?” He grumbled to himself as he pulled his sleeves back down and grasped the edge of the vent and swung his legs until he his top half was in the vent and he wriggled until his legs were too. The heat was tolerable, at least for now, and he began crawling. The vent had to have another attachment somewhere in the ship that would get him into a hallway, somewhere he could drop down and sneak around in a reasonable temperature. His hands were starting to burn through the heat in the metal and sweat was dripping down the back of his neck, his breathing was starting to get heavier and there was a wheeze with each breath. Damn it Lance he wiped at his forehead and pushed sticky hair out of his eyes, this was a terrible idea. His hands were really starting to burn now and every time he placed them on the tunnel floor it was worse. He thought suddenly of how embarrassing it would be if King Alfor’s son died in a ventilator system. He looked down and realised his hands were shaking and took a slow breath, he had to focus to get out of here. 

 

What would Allura do?

 

Alfor? 

 

Takashi? 

 

He kept crawling. 

 

After a few minutes he was slowing down, he needed to find a vent and he needed to find it now. By now Zarkon had probably realised his disappearance and was searching for him, he’d no doubt find the vent tossed on the bed and realise the prince had doomed himself. They’d probably find him passed out in a ceiling vent and laugh at his idiotic mistake. He shook away the image, he was a prince, and he was capable. 

 

He wished his father would just show up with a fleet and blast Zarkon’s ships to hell. He was so tired, and his head was starting to droop, it was far too hot in here. 

 

He crawled on. 

 

It was only a few moments more when Lance spotted the shining vent across from him, it was wet from moisture and burned his already damaged hands further and he let out a yelp. He kicked it twice and it flew open with a blast of cool air hitting him in the face. He gulped in a lungful of air in relief and sat for a moment, happy no one would find his body in a vent. 

 

Lance could hear voices coming towards him and he jumped to his feet, he grabbed the cooling vent with a hiss and shoved it back into place. He heard it click right as two soldiers came around the corner and stopped in their tracks. 

 

“Hey it’s that kid!” 

“Alfor’s son!”

“Grab him!” The closest guard leapt forwards and swung his weapon at Lance’s legs but the prince leapt out of the way and swung his fists at the guard’s face. 

He grunted at the effort and his burned hands connected with the pirate’s face and threw him to the ground, the second guard fired a blast at Lance and hit him in the shoulder. The boy cried out as the force of the shot threw him backwards, he reached out and landed on his hands. Pain ripped through his hands and his shoulder and he let out a low moan. The first soldier was back on his feet and the second was holding him down with a foot on his shoulder. 

“Get him up, i’m sure Zarkon wouldn’t mind altering the plan a bit. The kid has been nothing but trouble and we can get something from Alfor either way.” 

Lance was struggling to push the boot off of him but the pirate leaned onto his shoulder and the prince writhed in pain, crying out trying to free himself. 

The men looped their arms under his armpits and yanked him to his feet, dragging him through several identical halls before reaching a room with a huge security pad. 

 

The pirates dragged him through and he found himself face to face with Zarkon. 

 

“Hello little prince.” The pirate king was grinning, all of his teeth were visible and to be honest, terrifying, 

 

Lance swallowed, “Hello.” 

 

“I tried to be nice to you Lance, I truly did, I gave you a room and a meal and a nice bed. I protected you from my men who want nothing more than to throttle the son of the King. i have done everything to help you. So in these next hours, I want you to remember, I don’t want to hurt you, you brought this upon yourself.” 

 

Lance looked up into the eyes of his captor and one thought struck his mind; he should have stayed in his room. 

  
  


“Princess Allura?” Shiro’s voice broke into her thoughts, “There’s a transmission being broadcasted to your castle. Pidge and Hunk picked it up.” 

“Is it, Lance?” She hid the fear in her voice.

“Facial recognition confirms it is,” He paused, “We have to watch it, in order to find him, but you don’t have to.” 

“No!” Her cry surprised them all, “I’m watching it!” 

“Just be prepared,” Pidge’s voice was kind, one she usually only used for the team, “It could be anything.” 

Allura nodded and stood up as Pidge typed something and flicked her wrist to project a video onto the large screen. 

 

It was Lance. 

 

He was chained to a chair in the middle of an empty room, with a split lip and a large bruise across his cheekbone. His shoulder was a mess of blood and torn skin and Allura thought she might throw up, there was a metal clasp with a green light on one of his wrists. His hair was sticking to his forehead from either sweat or water and it looked like there were burn marks on his hands. 

 

“Hello Alfor.” Zarkon stepped into the frame, “By now i’m sure you recognize your son, however difficult it may be.” 

 

Lance frowned at the jab at his father and twisted his wrists in the restraints, wincing when they rubbed against his burned hands. 

 

“You also no doubt understand I want something in return, hand over your weapon or your son will face the consequences. I’m sure you don’t want to see those. And I’m sure you don’t want that missing daughter of yours to get mixed up in something she doesn’t understand, one child is enough for our war.” 

 

Lance was watching someone off screen, his face was pale and he was hiding a tremor in his hands. A man came into their view and stood behind Lance. The prince was staring straight ahead, into the lens of the camera, and hiding his fear. The man behind him nodded to Zarkon and the Pirate King stepped to the side of Lance so the boy was in full view of the screen. 

 

“Lance, if you tell me where your father’s weapon is now, it will spare you a lot of pain.” 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

 

Zarkon merely sighed and nodded to the other man who stepped forwards and drew a knife from a sheath on his leg and held it in front of Lance’s face, “Where should I start?” He sneered at the prince who scowled back. 

 

“Wherever you want.” 

 

Then he left. 

 

Like Lance wasn’t worth his time. Her brother. Her Lance. No one touches Lance without the full ferocity of Princess Allura raining down. And Zarkon had just gotten on her list. 

 

The man was grinning, “What do you think princey? Maybe an eye, maybe your little Altean ears, or maybe i’ll just snap all of the bones in your hands. They are already all burnt, how much more could it hurt.” 

 

Lance shivered as the man dragged the knife down his cheek, leaving a drop of blood running down his chin before dripping onto his chest. 

 

Allura decided he was dying as well. 

 

Lance stared straight ahead like his life depended on it, and it very well might have. His eyes were unwavering as he stared into the camera. His expression was stiff and his shoulders were raised tightly, as if he was trying to protect his neck. The man with the knife was dragging it slowly down his neck and towards his collar bone, where he pressed the blade into the boy’s skin. It was enough to sting and Lance let out a gasp as blood spread across his shirt. The man then dragged the knife down the prince’s chest, leaving a trail of blood quickly spreading across his chest. 

 

Lance cried out in surprise and pulled against his restraints in a futile attempt to escape, his hands were shaking and he clenched them only to gasp again in pain. His chest was heaving and he looked like he wanted to throw up everything he’d eaten in the past three days but he kept looking ahead, kept looking at the camera, it was as if there was an invisible string forcing his head to look forwards. 

 

“Why isn’t he moving?” Keith’s voice echoed through the silent ship and Allura couldn’t help but shiver. 

 

“I don’t know.” 

 

Zarkon was back, he’d stepped back in the frame and Allura had realised he’d never left, just watched as the man hurt her brother. 

 

“Why don’t you tell them our message little prince.” It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order.

 

But Lance sat staring straight ahead, not moving, he didn’t even blink. 

 

“I’ll give you one last chance, tell your father.” The pirate was snarling now and leaned over the back of Lance’s chair.

 

But her brother didn’t move.

 

“Very well little prince,” The man leaned down and whispered something into Lance’s ear that made him turn white. But he nodded as if he was agreeing to something. 

 

“Go ahead.” 

 

The man with the knife stepped forwards and placed one hand on Lance’s good shoulder, the one with the knife hovering below his hand. Then the man began his task. He dug the knife into Lance’s chest like he was carving a message, a cruel bloody message that would scar his chest. Lance didn’t scream until the man cut into the area above his sternum, he’d only let tears stream down his face and bit his lips to keep himself from crying out. But it had become too much and he’d screamed. 

 

They could all tell he’d tried not to, blood had spilled down his chin from where he bit his lip and his wrists were bloodied from where they’d been rubbed and crushed against the metal cuffs. 

 

When the man finally let go of Lance’s shoulder and backed up they couldn’t tell what he’d done, what he’d written. Lance’s entire torso was a mess of blood and soaked shirt. He had dropped his chin to his chest and his breathing was slowing down, he was going unconscious. 

 

Allura almost wanted him to pass out, it was better that way, when he didn’t have to feel the knife digging into him and the blood seeping down his chest and the wound in his shoulder from who knows what. It was clear her father was on the other end of the transmission but she hadn’t been able to see what he’d done through all of it. 

 

“Pidge, can you get the transmission from the castle’s end?” 

 

The girl looked confused for a moment and glanced at Shiro before nodding, “Of course, yeah, yeah.” 

 

She tapped on her keyboard for a few seconds before flicking her wrist to show another video next to Lance’s wheezing image. Her father. 

 

He’s standing in the control room, the main one, which he uses for war purposes. His face isn’t moving, he’s staring at the scene playing out in front of him with an almost curious expression as if he’s waiting to see what his son will do. There is no one else in the frame with him and she can’t hear anyone moving around in the room, he must be alone. 

 

“Zarkon,” Alfor’s voice is cold and angry and by the look on Zarkon’s face it’s the first time he’s spoken, “You will pay for this, for what you have done. Our war is Our war. It does not involve children. Mine or yours. I would hate to have to involve him. Keep your hands off of my son.”

 

“You think you speak so strongly old king?” The pirate sneered, “But I know what you hide, the secrets you keep hidden away from the light. The weapon shall be mine. And your son,” He waved his hand over Lance’s still form, “Will have a message for you, that is if you can ever get him back.”

 

“THIS IS NO WAR FOR CHILDREN.” Alfor’s voice thundered through the speakers, “I will not hesitate to kill you or your men, but I would not harm a child.” 

 

“You forget, I have not laid a finger on him, so i’m sure you won’t touch my son, yes it really is a pity that contract binds us. And I would find that daughter of yours before she involves herself with my affairs. Your children have no idea what they have involved themselves in. This war spans many years. Your wife could tell you that." He was spitting with anger now. "Until I have that weapon, I will use your children against you, your son will soon understand it is not I who is the villain but you." 

Zarkon wrapped his hands in Lance's sweat soaked hair and lifted his face up so they could see it, "He thinks he is a hero. He thinks he cane escape me and impress you and that sister of his. Oh he is very desperate to prove to you his capabilities, it is a shame you never paid attention to him. I will not rest until you are destroyed, until every world hates you as much as I do, and i will turn this boy against you, I will make him believe my lies and when the time comes I will have him kill you and your daughter." There was an evil grin on his face, "I trust you see now the situation before you." 

 

The screen went blank. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really said f**k alfor w this fic didn't i. I hope you all enjoyed!


	4. THIS AINT A REAL CHAOTER AND IM SORRY

IM so sorry it’s taking me so long to write this i’m in my junior year of high school and things are getting insane rn. i’m almost finished w it and my christmas break starts tomorrow so i’ll finish it tomorrow and add it for yall. ik you’ve been waiting and i’m very sorry i didn’t complete it sooner but don’t worry!! it’s coming!! i love you all thank you so much for being so patient and supportive!! it’s happening i promise, and if it doesn’t y’all can jump me xx

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! I hope you enjoy, there will be a new chapter most likely tomorrow or the day after, this isn't going to be a long fic and I hope to upload all of the chapters as soon as I can.


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